Monthly Supporters
Give it up for GOD
But blessed is the man who trusts me, God,
the woman who sticks with God.-Jeremiah 17:7 (MSG)
Most blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in, and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is.-Jer. 17:7
This goes along with my blog yesterday about not putting your hope in powerful leaders, or in humans in general. But putting your whole confidence in the LORD and sticking with Him. Not relying on your own, or on any mere human strength but relying on God's power & strength.
The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful,
a puzzle that no one can figure out.
But I, God, search the heart
and examine the mind.
I get to the heart of the human.
I get to the root of things.-Jer.17:9-10
Okay now that may really sound depressing at first...like Oh great my heart is hopelessly deceitful & an unsolvable puzzle even to me?!? But the Truth is, God knows our hearts through and through, better than we ever could. It is impossible to know every single motive of our hearts & every motive of every single thing we do. It is important to press into God and ask Him to search our hearts (Psalm 139) and to reveal to us any offensive way or to reveal our motives to us. But we cannot search our hearts without Him. He is THE heart searcher. There are times when I do rely on my human strength, or maybe on someone else's...I am not proud of it, but I am being honest. God is faithful to reveal to me when I am putting my reliance in the wrong place and not on Him.
He wants the best for us. He reveals to us so that we can surrender and put our hope & trust back in Him. If I don't even know my own heart then I surely don't know what I need. If my own heart can even deceive me then I really need to stick close to God. I have to stick close to Him to be on guard and discerning. Not seeking or forcing my will, but just the opposite, letting go of my will and seeking to follow His. Whatever we have to let go of to follow His will, is ultimately for our good. I just heard Zig say this at Unashamed last night:
"God will never make you give up something you cant live w/out. Guaranteed, anything you give up for Him, He'll give you BETTER!"
That is so true. If you think about it, anything you have ever given up for God, you survived without and in fact you were better off without it. And I guarantee He brought something even better your way. He does close doors, we do face rejection...but rejection is His protection & leading us in a better direction, to a BETTER open door. Don't trust your own unsteady willpower or your deceitful heart. Don't lean on your own understanding & try to figure it out. Just let Him lead you & trust in HIM. He is the only One that has the best plan for you all mapped out and knows the best way to get you there.
What you were created to do, you can't do without God. God doesn't want to go a single day, a single minute without YOU! Don't go a single minute without Him! -@ZIGoftheU
the woman who sticks with God.-Jeremiah 17:7 (MSG)
Most blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in, and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is.-Jer. 17:7
This goes along with my blog yesterday about not putting your hope in powerful leaders, or in humans in general. But putting your whole confidence in the LORD and sticking with Him. Not relying on your own, or on any mere human strength but relying on God's power & strength.
The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful,
a puzzle that no one can figure out.
But I, God, search the heart
and examine the mind.
I get to the heart of the human.
I get to the root of things.-Jer.17:9-10
Okay now that may really sound depressing at first...like Oh great my heart is hopelessly deceitful & an unsolvable puzzle even to me?!? But the Truth is, God knows our hearts through and through, better than we ever could. It is impossible to know every single motive of our hearts & every motive of every single thing we do. It is important to press into God and ask Him to search our hearts (Psalm 139) and to reveal to us any offensive way or to reveal our motives to us. But we cannot search our hearts without Him. He is THE heart searcher. There are times when I do rely on my human strength, or maybe on someone else's...I am not proud of it, but I am being honest. God is faithful to reveal to me when I am putting my reliance in the wrong place and not on Him.
He wants the best for us. He reveals to us so that we can surrender and put our hope & trust back in Him. If I don't even know my own heart then I surely don't know what I need. If my own heart can even deceive me then I really need to stick close to God. I have to stick close to Him to be on guard and discerning. Not seeking or forcing my will, but just the opposite, letting go of my will and seeking to follow His. Whatever we have to let go of to follow His will, is ultimately for our good. I just heard Zig say this at Unashamed last night:
"God will never make you give up something you cant live w/out. Guaranteed, anything you give up for Him, He'll give you BETTER!"
That is so true. If you think about it, anything you have ever given up for God, you survived without and in fact you were better off without it. And I guarantee He brought something even better your way. He does close doors, we do face rejection...but rejection is His protection & leading us in a better direction, to a BETTER open door. Don't trust your own unsteady willpower or your deceitful heart. Don't lean on your own understanding & try to figure it out. Just let Him lead you & trust in HIM. He is the only One that has the best plan for you all mapped out and knows the best way to get you there.
What you were created to do, you can't do without God. God doesn't want to go a single day, a single minute without YOU! Don't go a single minute without Him! -@ZIGoftheU
Waiting: "She will call me her Husband"
How long will you wander, my wayward daughter?
God will create something new & different to happen:
A transformed woman will embrace the transforming God!"-Jer. 31:22
In another version of the Bible it says "A woman will court her suitor"...wow! God is our suitor, pursuing our wandering, wayward hearts. In Hosea 2 God says, "She will call me her husband"
But then I will win her back once again.
I will lead her into the desert
and speak tenderly (words of comfort) to her there.
I will return her vineyards to her
and transform the Valley of Trouble, a door of hope.
And she will SING there as she did when she was young (NLV)
when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt.
When that day comes,” says the Lord,
“you will call Me ‘My Husband’-Hosea 2:14-16 (NLT)
"I will promise to make you Mine forever. Yes, I will take you as My bride in what is right and good and fair, and in loving-kindness and in loving-pity. I will keep My promise and make you Mine. Then you will know the Lord."-Hosea 2:19-20
WOW! I could write an entire novel just on these verses from Hosea & Jeremiah...the thing is...there are SO many more. His Word is so alive. He has been speaking to me about being His bride since before my baptism and He keeps revealing more and more to me. Hosea 2:15 He says she will SING there as she did when she was young. After He freed her from captivity. I can really relate to these verses. He is wooing me and calling me back to my first love...to HIM. Calling me back to singing to Him and for Him. He reminds me of all He has freed me from and all He has rescued me from. When He recalls to my mind & heart, all of the mercy & grace He has had upon me...it makes me want to SING for Him. Shout for JOY, sing from the top of the rooftops about how good He is. You see when you experience a LOVE like God, you want to tell the WHOLE WORLD about it. You can't help but tell them, sing about Him...you are bursting at the seems with His love! He is so jealous for us. For our love, affection, attention. For our first and our best. Because He loves us that much and He wants to give us HIS first and HIS best!
When my mind or my heart start to wander, even just a thought (take captive every thought)...I say out loud to myself & to God..."I set you as a seal upon my heart." And "The Lord is my shepherd, nothing shall I want." I am not saying I do this perfectly, but I have been trying to make it a practice, whenever my heart wanders...I say these verses. Focusing on what I don't have is to be ungrateful for all that I do have. It is to take my eyes & heart off of Jesus. It can & does change the course of my whole day. When I am focused on what I DO have...which is so much more than I could ever ask for, then I am not only cultivating at attitude of gratitude but I am also keeping my mind stayed on Him. Isaiah 26:3 is another favorite verse of mine. "He keeps in perfect peace, the one whose mind is stayed on Him, because He trusts in Him." Keeping my eyes on Jesus and my mind on eternal things, gives me the gift of HIS transcendent peace. Sometimes I start listing out loud all the things I am grateful for and all the things He has been doing in my life. Once we really start to look at all He is doing in us, thru us and for us, we will be amazed at how joyful and peaceful we will be, even in the worst situations. He anchors us with His peace & love & joy when we deposit into our spiritual banks. Life is always wanting to take withdrawals from your spiritual bank account. The enemy does come to STEAL...so make sure you are depositing plenty into your spiritual bank account so you are ready when life's storms hit. It is amazing how our attitude & perception changes everything. The fact is, God does meet all of my needs like a husband cares for a wife. It is just up to me to focus on that truth & "see" it with His eyes.
He will never stop pursuing our wandering hearts, and He will keep wooing us back to Him, reminding us of all the good He has done for us. Reminding us that He will continue to do good. He has a good track record!!! He keeps transforming us and calling us back to Him until we fully surrender our hearts to Him and pursue Him as our rightful suitor. I cry when I read this verse a loud, "How long will you wander, my wayward daughter, for I will cause something NEW & different to happen. A transformed women, will embrace the transforming God." There is so much hope there. He never gives up on us. He doesn't just want to save us, He wants to change & transform us until the day we return home to Him. God is so intimate, relational and romantic with us.
God will create something new & different to happen:
A transformed woman will embrace the transforming God!"-Jer. 31:22
In another version of the Bible it says "A woman will court her suitor"...wow! God is our suitor, pursuing our wandering, wayward hearts. In Hosea 2 God says, "She will call me her husband"
But then I will win her back once again.
I will lead her into the desert
and speak tenderly (words of comfort) to her there.
I will return her vineyards to her
and transform the Valley of Trouble, a door of hope.
And she will SING there as she did when she was young (NLV)
when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt.
When that day comes,” says the Lord,
“you will call Me ‘My Husband’-Hosea 2:14-16 (NLT)
"I will promise to make you Mine forever. Yes, I will take you as My bride in what is right and good and fair, and in loving-kindness and in loving-pity. I will keep My promise and make you Mine. Then you will know the Lord."-Hosea 2:19-20
WOW! I could write an entire novel just on these verses from Hosea & Jeremiah...the thing is...there are SO many more. His Word is so alive. He has been speaking to me about being His bride since before my baptism and He keeps revealing more and more to me. Hosea 2:15 He says she will SING there as she did when she was young. After He freed her from captivity. I can really relate to these verses. He is wooing me and calling me back to my first love...to HIM. Calling me back to singing to Him and for Him. He reminds me of all He has freed me from and all He has rescued me from. When He recalls to my mind & heart, all of the mercy & grace He has had upon me...it makes me want to SING for Him. Shout for JOY, sing from the top of the rooftops about how good He is. You see when you experience a LOVE like God, you want to tell the WHOLE WORLD about it. You can't help but tell them, sing about Him...you are bursting at the seems with His love! He is so jealous for us. For our love, affection, attention. For our first and our best. Because He loves us that much and He wants to give us HIS first and HIS best!
When my mind or my heart start to wander, even just a thought (take captive every thought)...I say out loud to myself & to God..."I set you as a seal upon my heart." And "The Lord is my shepherd, nothing shall I want." I am not saying I do this perfectly, but I have been trying to make it a practice, whenever my heart wanders...I say these verses. Focusing on what I don't have is to be ungrateful for all that I do have. It is to take my eyes & heart off of Jesus. It can & does change the course of my whole day. When I am focused on what I DO have...which is so much more than I could ever ask for, then I am not only cultivating at attitude of gratitude but I am also keeping my mind stayed on Him. Isaiah 26:3 is another favorite verse of mine. "He keeps in perfect peace, the one whose mind is stayed on Him, because He trusts in Him." Keeping my eyes on Jesus and my mind on eternal things, gives me the gift of HIS transcendent peace. Sometimes I start listing out loud all the things I am grateful for and all the things He has been doing in my life. Once we really start to look at all He is doing in us, thru us and for us, we will be amazed at how joyful and peaceful we will be, even in the worst situations. He anchors us with His peace & love & joy when we deposit into our spiritual banks. Life is always wanting to take withdrawals from your spiritual bank account. The enemy does come to STEAL...so make sure you are depositing plenty into your spiritual bank account so you are ready when life's storms hit. It is amazing how our attitude & perception changes everything. The fact is, God does meet all of my needs like a husband cares for a wife. It is just up to me to focus on that truth & "see" it with His eyes.
He will never stop pursuing our wandering hearts, and He will keep wooing us back to Him, reminding us of all the good He has done for us. Reminding us that He will continue to do good. He has a good track record!!! He keeps transforming us and calling us back to Him until we fully surrender our hearts to Him and pursue Him as our rightful suitor. I cry when I read this verse a loud, "How long will you wander, my wayward daughter, for I will cause something NEW & different to happen. A transformed women, will embrace the transforming God." There is so much hope there. He never gives up on us. He doesn't just want to save us, He wants to change & transform us until the day we return home to Him. God is so intimate, relational and romantic with us.
Child Like Faith AND Wisdom
I would rather be foolish than faithless...that is what child like faith is. I feel like I have been going through some major discernment lessons. The hardest lessons are always the one's that stick. The one's where we were totally wrong, or missed all the red flags from God...but that is how He teaches us. That is how He cultivates discernment deep within us. Through the "mistakes"...there are no mistakes in God's Kingdom, He allows things to happen to teach us. I tend to look at the world with rose colored glasses, I want to see the best in people & situations. This is a huge blessing from God but can also be very bad when it comes to discernment. I want to be sharp and wise and discerning, while at the same time seeing the best in people. It is a tough combo, and one that only God could truly help me do. I am usually at one extreme or the other...seeing everyone & everything in a good light, but maybe missing the red flags. So God is dealing with me on this. He gave me the verse
Matthew 10:16
“I am sending you out like sheep with wolves all around you. Be wise like snakes and gentle like doves." The gentle as doves part comes pretty naturally (by His grace & through HIM) but the wise as snakes part He is pruning in me right now. I am grateful He is teaching me all of this. I know I need it, in this big big world and in ministry. It is very important to be wise & cautious, while at the same time loving & accepting. Only Jesus could do this perfectly...wow what an example He is to follow! The best!!!
God also gave me these verses recently as I've been going through some church changes here in California...
Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
there is no help for you there.
When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
and all their plans die with them.
But joyful are those who have God...as their helper,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.-Psalm 146:3-5
My hope is not in a powerful leader at my church and his dreams and visions for my life. My HOPE is in GOD alone...always and forever. Because when that leader is gone or when God redirects my footsteps, GOD alone remains the same. His plans and purpose and dreams for my life will never change, will never be to harm me or to use my gifts for anything but HIS glory! God's plans are the BEST. Submitting to His plan, trusting, knowing it might not "look" like what I thought I 'wanted' but it is surely always what I NEED. And it always, always works out that what HE has for me, what I need...always turns out to be what I truly wanted all along, just didn't know any better. It is like a kid that asks His dad for chocolate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner..the Dad knows best what the child needs, but the child doesn't know. Later on however the child thanks the Father for being a good Dad and meeting His needs. So it is with us & God. I want to LOVE His will. Thy will be done. And trust His will, because His will is the best. He will meet our needs, it will be more than we could as think or imagine. He may not give us the blueprint, because He just wants us to trust without needing to see it. Once again, it is just me and Jesus. Exactly where He wants me. Totally and utterly dependent on HIM for every move I make, every breath I breathe, every step I take. Desperate for Him. He gives us a dream that we could never do without HIM, so that we have to press into HIM in every way and trust Him in every way to even take one step closer to it. So that HE can be glorified in EVERY WAY.
Follow your dreams...you say "I don't know how to follow this dream"...without GOD. But with HIM all things are possible and if you keep following Him one step at a time, He will accomplish His plan. It is a promise and He can't break His promise.
I will give them ONE heart & one purpose to worship me forever...I will make an everlasting covenant with them. I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me. I will find joy in doing good for them-Jer. 32:39-40
Wow. His Words. His promises. 100% Truth. God is always faithful!
My loyalty is first and foremost always to Jesus. I will also always be loyal and faithful to the Basement.
Matthew 10:16
“I am sending you out like sheep with wolves all around you. Be wise like snakes and gentle like doves." The gentle as doves part comes pretty naturally (by His grace & through HIM) but the wise as snakes part He is pruning in me right now. I am grateful He is teaching me all of this. I know I need it, in this big big world and in ministry. It is very important to be wise & cautious, while at the same time loving & accepting. Only Jesus could do this perfectly...wow what an example He is to follow! The best!!!
God also gave me these verses recently as I've been going through some church changes here in California...
Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
there is no help for you there.
When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
and all their plans die with them.
But joyful are those who have God...as their helper,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.-Psalm 146:3-5
My hope is not in a powerful leader at my church and his dreams and visions for my life. My HOPE is in GOD alone...always and forever. Because when that leader is gone or when God redirects my footsteps, GOD alone remains the same. His plans and purpose and dreams for my life will never change, will never be to harm me or to use my gifts for anything but HIS glory! God's plans are the BEST. Submitting to His plan, trusting, knowing it might not "look" like what I thought I 'wanted' but it is surely always what I NEED. And it always, always works out that what HE has for me, what I need...always turns out to be what I truly wanted all along, just didn't know any better. It is like a kid that asks His dad for chocolate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner..the Dad knows best what the child needs, but the child doesn't know. Later on however the child thanks the Father for being a good Dad and meeting His needs. So it is with us & God. I want to LOVE His will. Thy will be done. And trust His will, because His will is the best. He will meet our needs, it will be more than we could as think or imagine. He may not give us the blueprint, because He just wants us to trust without needing to see it. Once again, it is just me and Jesus. Exactly where He wants me. Totally and utterly dependent on HIM for every move I make, every breath I breathe, every step I take. Desperate for Him. He gives us a dream that we could never do without HIM, so that we have to press into HIM in every way and trust Him in every way to even take one step closer to it. So that HE can be glorified in EVERY WAY.
Follow your dreams...you say "I don't know how to follow this dream"...without GOD. But with HIM all things are possible and if you keep following Him one step at a time, He will accomplish His plan. It is a promise and He can't break His promise.
I will give them ONE heart & one purpose to worship me forever...I will make an everlasting covenant with them. I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me. I will find joy in doing good for them-Jer. 32:39-40
Wow. His Words. His promises. 100% Truth. God is always faithful!
My loyalty is first and foremost always to Jesus. I will also always be loyal and faithful to the Basement.
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